The night before my mating ceremony with Alpha Garrett Northwood of the Silverpine Pack, he held a grand Luna ceremony for my silver-poisoned stepsister behind my back.

He held Serena close under the starlit sky, his smile tender in a way I'd never seen:

"You're the only one I truly love, Serena."

"Even though Maya and I are already registered as mates with the Alpha Council, she'll never have my heart. You're the only one I recognize as my Luna."

The pack members cheered and blessed them as they completed the ceremony with joy.

I watched it all without crying or screaming.

Instead, I quietly scheduled an abortion appointment.

I've loved Garrett Northwood for twelve years, ever since I first shifted as an adult.

But his heart still only had room for my stepsister Serena.

If that's how it was, I'd let go.

Later, I joined the secluded Herbal Research Center of the Alpha Council.

I left Garrett nothing but a mate bond dissolution agreement.

But for some reason, Garrett—who had always treated me with disdain—suddenly went crazy begging me not to leave.

The night before my mating ceremony with Alpha Garrett Northwood of the Silverpine Pack, he held a grand Luna ceremony for my silver-poisoned stepsister behind my back.

The sound of cheering voices carried through the forest wind, making me stop in my tracks.

I ran toward the noise and found them on the ceremonial grounds. My heart stopped.?

There was Garrett, placing a shining ring on Serena's hand. The ring sparkled under the moonlight - that expensive healing stone he bought last week. I thought it was for our ceremony tomorrow.

Serena looked up at him with shy eyes, her cheeks pink.

Garrett didn't wait. He grabbed her face and pressed his lips to hers.

The pack members around them started clapping and shouting. Some wolves howled in celebration.

I watched them kiss. It went on and on. Serena's hands gripped his shirt, and her knees started shaking.

When they finally broke apart, both were breathing hard.

The torches around the ceremony circle lit up their faces. That's when I saw who else was there.

My brother Max stood at the front of the crowd. He was the one leading the ceremony.

Max, who I saved from rogues when we were kids. Max, who promised he would always protect me.

Now he was smiling as he watched Serena and Garrett together.

He had forgotten how Serena and her mother tried to sell us to those rogue wolves years ago.

"I declare Alpha Garrett and Luna Serena bonded for life!" Max shouted.

The Gamma next to him set off fireworks. They exploded above us in bright colors.

Garrett picked up Serena and spun her around.

Max threw his hands up in the air. "The ceremony is done! Serena is now our pack's Luna!"

I stood there alone, watching. The rain started falling on my face, but I couldn't move.

I raised my hand and dialed Max's number.

I could see him look at his phone screen. He saw my name and just put it back in his pocket.

He didn't answer.

My hands shook as I called Garrett next.

Garrett saw my name on his phone. His happy face turned angry. He almost hung up, but Serena whispered something to him.

He answered with a cold voice.

I kept my voice quiet. "Where are you?"

Garrett laughed in a mean way. Everyone around him could hear.

Garrett laughed in a mean way. Everyone around him could hear.

"Why are you calling me again? Didn't you get what you wanted by registering with the Alpha Council? You're already pregnant and still won't behave? Maya, are you really that desperate for attention?"

"Can't you live without chasing after men?"

"I already told you—Serena and I came to the border territory to scout new mineral veins for our pack. This is about the pack's development!"

"Only a sick female like you would think everything is about romance!"

His words hit me like slaps to the face.

But I still had to try one more time. My voice cracked as I said:

"But Garrett, today is my birthday..."

You once promised me that no matter what happened, you'd spend my birthday with me.

That's why I shifted into my wolf form and ran all the way here. I slept outside and crossed rivers and mountains to find you, even though you said you were a thousand miles away on business.

Until the border wolves told me there were no mineral veins here at all.

The Alpha had been planning this Luna ceremony for Serena for three whole months.

I heard Garrett stop talking on the other end of the phone.

He remembered. Finally, he remembered it was my birthday.

But before he could speak, Max grabbed the phone from him.

"Maya, why are you being such a drama queen? You think everyone cares about fighting over men like you do?"

"I'm telling you to stop making trouble! If you mess up our pack business, can you deal with the consequences?!"

"Stop acting stupid and making other people fix your problems!"

He hung up on me.

Serena leaned against Garrett's chest, her smile soft and sweet as she patted Max's head, cooing gently:

"Come on, you all know what kind of wolf Maya is."

"Today is the most important day of my life. Be good, smile for me~"

Just like that, Max melted. His angry face turned soft again.

The group of wolves continued their lively celebration under the moonlight, singing and dancing.

Their happiness had nothing to do with me.

I stood alone in the dark like some joke that everyone forgot about.

I opened my phone and scheduled the abortion appointment.

Then I turned and walked away.

I had spent twelve years trying to make someone love me back.

I was done trying.

I returned to the hotel after midnight.

I took a shower and tried to sleep, but I kept tossing and turning.

Right before sunrise, my phone rang and woke me up.

The elder from the Healing Center spoke with anxiety in his voice:

"Maya, I heard there was a rogue wolf attack in that border territory you're in yesterday. You need to get there immediately and help treat the wounded!"

He hung up without waiting for my response.

I felt nothing but bitter irony. If I'd known this would happen, I never should have come.

Resigned to my fate, I got up and opened my phone.

But I saw Serena's new social media post.

Just one photo.

In it, Serena's small, pale hand was wrapped in Garrett's large, strong one.

Both wore the expensive healing gemstone rings on their ring fingers.

I stared at the old red mark on the back of Garrett's hand. Even though my heart felt dead, it still hurt to see it.

Garrett got that scar when he was eighteen. He jumped in front of me when my stepfather threw silver water at me. The doctors tried everything, but the mark never went away completely.

I always thought it meant he loved me.

I was so stupid.

The last bit of hope in my chest finally died.

I bought some medical supplies and called my lawyer friend to write up papers to break our mate bond.

When I returned to the border territory, it was a scene of devastation.

I put my feelings aside and started helping the hurt pack members.

Something felt off about this rogue attack. It looked like they did it in a hurry without planning.

I could still see pieces of last night's fireworks on the ground. A bad thought entered my head.

But the next second, someone kicked me hard from behind.

Caught off guard, I crashed forward onto the weapons left behind by the rogue wolves.

A sharp spear that was stuck in the dirt went right through my stomach.

Max's voice came from behind me. He sounded angry.

"Maya, are you some kind of creep? Did you actually follow us here to spy on us? Are you crazy?!"

I don't know when Max forgot what our real mom looked like before Serena's mother killed her.

Now he obeyed Serena's every command without question.

I didn't want this kind of brother anymore!

I gritted my teeth through the pain and gripped the spear shaft. Blood gushed out as I pulled the weapon from my body. Though my wolf quickly began healing the wound, I was already in agony. Before the wound could fully close, I walked up to him and slapped him hard across the face.

Max's head turned from the slap. He stared at me with wide eyes. He never thought I would hit him back.

Before he could say anything, I looked at him like he disgusted me.

"Don't think so much of yourself. Since you love Serena so much, just be her little dog."

"That slap was for everything you've done. We're not family anymore."

Ignoring his furious glare, I turned away to tend to my wound.

Not far away, Garrett approached with Serena, who looked deathly pale in his arms.

A flash of guilt crossed his face as he tried to explain:

"Maya, I forgot to wish you happy birthday last night."

"After I finish this mining work, I'll come back and celebrate with you..."

I calmly shifted my gaze away from his and Serena's intertwined fingers and shook my head quietly:

"Don't bother."??

My peaceful reaction stunned all three of them.

Max, who had followed them over, let out a mocking laugh:

"Maya, what are you pretending to be now? Stop acting."

"You used every dirty trick in the book to become the Alpha's mate. Now that you're pregnant, you're still trying to play hard to get? Pathetic."

"I'm telling you, even if you're pregnant, we only recognize Serena as our Luna!"

He still couldn't see his own situation clearly.

Seeing my expression remain cold and distant, Garrett also grew angry. He furrowed his brows and accused me sternly:

"Maya, it's bad enough that you stalked me and interfered with pack development, but now you're throwing a tantrum here too?"

"I can only be patient for so long. Serena's silver poisoning is getting worse - she can't handle drama, but you came here anyway."

"Get out of here right now!"

He grabbed my hand, trying to forcibly drag me away from the scene.

But the next second, several more rogue wolves attacked.

Garrett and Max both rushed to protect Serena, who stood in the clearing.

Garrett instinctively shoved me aside.

But he clearly saw that there were wolves attacking from behind me too.

The rogue wolf pounced on me, knocking me to the ground and tearing into me savagely. Blood and flesh flew everywhere.

I lost consciousness completely in the excruciating pain.

When I woke up again, I was lying in the Healing Center. The smell of herbs drifted through the gaps in my bandages.

The bedside was empty.

A nurse came over to remove my IV when she saw I was awake. Her tone was concerned:

"Although the Gamma rescue team arrived in time, you were too close to the attack. Your injuries were too severe. Your baby couldn't be saved."

I stared calmly at the ceiling, my voice barely a whisper:

"It's fine. I could feel it myself. Besides, I was planning to abort anyway."

When the nurse wheeled me out of the room in a wheelchair, I saw that Garrett had sent me a single message:

"Serena was injured in the attack. I'm taking her back to the pack for treatment."

He and Max had applied for an emergency helicopter together and escorted Serena back to the pack overnight.

As for my injuries—he didn't care at all.

Although I'd already lost hope in him, this still left me feeling devastated again, making my heart ache until I couldn't breathe.

I used this time to finalize the mate bond dissolution agreement with my lawyer friend.

After closing our chat, I saw the family group where my father, Max, and even Garrett's Beta were all sending birthday wishes to Serena.

Looking at the panicked birds flying past the window, I smiled bitterly to myself.

So they all remembered Serena's birthday after all.

"Thank you Garrett for my Luna necklace!" It bore the Silverpine Pack emblem—proof of Luna status.

Below was a selfie of her wearing the necklace.

Garrett immediately replied:

"No matter what the future holds, Serena is the only one I'll ever recognize as Luna."

I silently watched this heartwarming scene, then left the group chat entirely.

The second I left the chat, Garrett called me. His voice was full of mockery from the start:

"Maya, what drama are you starting now? Are you mad because you saw how nice we are to Serena?"

"You accused her and her mother of selling pack secrets before, claiming they killed your mother. But what was the truth?"

"Uncle already told me the truth - your mother was weak and got herself killed by rogues outside!"

"Then you said Serena's mother wanted to sell you and Max to rogue wolf camps! Ha—"

He made no effort to hide the contempt and disgust in his voice.

"I had that investigated too. That camp never even existed!"

"Max told me you tricked Serena into going out to play with you, then caused her to fall off a cliff and lose her memory."

"In the end, Serena was the one who took care of her for a whole month!"

Like he'd finally found an outlet for his anger, Garrett went on a furious rant:

"I never actually wanted to bond with you at all. If it weren't for the fact that you were carrying my child and I was worried you might hurt yourself—"

"I never would have gone into that hotel that night and drunk that wolf wine you drugged—"

I listened to it all in silence until a healer walked over and interrupted Garrett:

"Excuse me, are you patient Maya? Please come to the claiming room to claim your child's body."

Garrett fell suddenly silent. His breathing became sharp and rapid:

"Body? What child's body?"

For some reason, I detected a note of disbelief in his voice.

I was about to speak when I heard Serena's soft laughter from his end of the phone:

"Garrett, you're so silly. Maya cares about you and your child so much—how could she ever let anything happen to him~"

Hearing this, Garrett's tone instantly turned ice cold:

"You're right. Maya, I didn't expect your jealousy to reach this level!"

"I won't even mention your previous schemes, but now you're trying to use a child to make me pity you?"

"I'm telling you - if you don't stop this, we're breaking the mate bond!"

He finished speaking and waited smugly for me to regret my actions.

But after a few seconds of silence, I let out a sigh of relief:

"Good. Then I'll see you at the Alpha Council the day after tomorrow."

I hung up and turned to walk into the claiming room.